


happiness hit her (like a bullet in the back)

by BadIdeasMakeHilariousStories



Series: TLOU one-shots [2]
Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, ellie and joel are entirely familial and this is not a shipping fic, i mean no shade to anyone who ships them but it's not my thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:29:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22441837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadIdeasMakeHilariousStories/pseuds/BadIdeasMakeHilariousStories
Summary: In which Joel is starting to remember how to be a father, and Ellie is learning how to be a daughter.
Relationships: Ellie & Joel (The Last of Us), Ellie & Tommy (The Last of Us), Ellie/Kat (implied)
Series: TLOU one-shots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1524392
Comments: 12
Kudos: 155





	happiness hit her (like a bullet in the back)

**Author's Note:**

> Just wanted to say sorry for being MIA for so long, life is life and complicates itself at the worst of times. Hope you enjoy this!

Joel didn’t call Ellie his daughter, not ever. At least, not in front of Tommy. Maybe he saved the affection for when they were in private, but somehow Tommy didn’t think that was it. He wasn’t sure if Joel was just hesitant to form an emotional bond because of the world around him, or if he just really didn’t consider Ellie his daughter. That couldn’t possibly be true, though.

“Hey, Ellie. Remember yesterday’s lesson?” Tommy asked as Ellie switched places with him in the watchtower. She wasn’t technically supposed to have a job yet, but she had a knack for spying threats and Tommy was training her during the slow days.

“Anything that I can see from the watchtower can probably see me in the watchtower.”

“Good memory. Stay quiet and careful while you’re up here, and don’t be afraid to duck low if you think someone spotted you. How’s the old man?”

“He’s not my old man, but Joel’s ok. Burnt himself on the toaster this morning, so that was kinda funny.”

“That’s definitely funny, but what do you mean he’s not your old man?”

“Old man means dad or something, right?”

“Typically, yeah,” Tommy answered.

Ellie shrugged. “Well, then Joel ain’t mine. He’s not my dad, he just got stuck with me, that’s all.”

“Ellie, you know Joel cares about you, right?”

“Sure he does, but he’s not my father or some shit.”

“Language,” Tommy said almost instinctively. Ellie scoffed. “Hey, really. People around here aren’t used to a fourteen year old girl swearing worse than a sailor.”

“They’ll get used to it. And what does that mean? Did sailors curse a lot?”

“Uh. I don’t actually know. Wasn’t in the Navy or any shit like that.”

“How come you get to curse but I don’t?” Ellie whined. “That’s not fair.”

“It’s because I’m the adult and you’re a child. Children have to wait until they’re sixteen to curse, it’s the rule.”

“Is not.”

“Is so. Now what’s this about Joel not being your dad?”

“He’s not. I think you should know that by now, Tommy.”

“Well of course he ain’t your biological dad, but he’s like, an adoptive dad.”

“Adoptive? What’s that mean?”

“Do you really-“ Tommy stared at Ellie, sighing when she looked back blankly. “You don’t know what adoption is?”

“I mean, kind of? Isn’t that when people wanted kids but couldn’t have them so they’d just buy them instead?”

“They didn’t buy them, Ellie, Jesus Christ.”

“So they were free? Anyone could just get a free child?”

“No, they weren’t free.”

“So they bought them. Wasn’t it illegal to buy people? I thought that was a whole thing, you know?”

“Yes, it was illegal, what do you mean- you know what, the finer points of the childcare system are not what I’m trying to focus on here. The point is, adoption was basically a parent taking in a child that they would care for like their own.”

“Oh.” Ellie went quiet. “That’s kinda nice. Even if it still sounds illegal.”

“Yeah, sure.” Tommy chuckled. “Anyway, that’s what Joel is. Your adoptive father.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah? He takes care of you like you’re his own kid, and provides for you, and worries about you. That’s all pretty fatherly.”

“No. No way. He just still feels obligated to take care of me,” Ellie reasoned. “Part of his promise to Tess or whatever.”

“Who’s Tess?” Tommy asked.

“Oh. Um, Joel hasn’t told you about her?”

“No, no he has not. Who is she?”

“Was.” Ellie corrected.

“Huh?”

“Who was she. Not is. Past tense.”

“Oh.” Tommy was clearly racking his brain, trying to come up with a response. “Sorry.”

“All good. Hurt Joel more than me, I think. I’m not really sure how much it hurt him, I just know that it definitely did.”

“She was a friend of his? Or was she…”

“I don’t know,” Ellie answered. “If they were just friends, or maybe more. She was a bit younger than he was, but there may have been something there. I was a little too focused on not dying to pay much attention.”

“I suppose that’s fair. This Tess, she uh… didn’t make it?”

“Clicker bite. And then she stayed behind to cover us while we got out of a building.”

“Oh. Shit, that’s rough.”

“Yeah, it was.” Ellie looked out over the expanse of land beyond Jackson, refusing to make eye contact with Tommy.

“Sorry for asking.”

“Nah, don’t be. Kinda felt nice to talk about it. Joel doesn’t talk much. About Tess, or… anything, really.”

“Lucky you, he used to never shut up when we were kids.”

Ellie laughed, but it was a humorless sound. Tommy was no good with words, but he would have described it as almost wistful.

The kid was too fucking mature for a fourteen year old.

“Hey. What do you call a reptile detective?” Tommy tried.

“What?”

“What do you call a reptile detective?”

“The fuck does a detective do?” Ellie looked back at Tommy.

“What do you mean- oh goddamnit. Ok, why did the tomato blush?”

“How would a tomato blush? It’s already red.”

“Why did the tomato blush?”

“I don’t know, why?”

“Because it saw the salad dressing.” Tommy grinned.

It took a second for the joke to click in Ellie’s mind. “Oh. Oh, that’s- that’s actually kinda funny.”

“Why was the skeleton afraid of the thunderstorm?”

“Why?”

“Because he had no guts.”

Ellie actually laughed at that. “Ok, that one was good.”

“Mhm. I’m the king of bad jokes.”

“Oh yeah? Have you heard this one?”

The rest of the watch shift was spent telling dumb jokes and laughing riotously at whichever ones were stupid enough to be funny. Tommy made a mental note to look for some joke books on the next patrol.

He also added talking to Joel on his to-do list. Clearly, Joel needed a push to acknowledge that he had somehow become a father all over again.

————————————————————————————————

Ellie didn’t get why Tommy wanted her to believe that Joel was her dad. Sure, Joel was sticking around to take care of her, but it wasn’t like he had anywhere else to go. And he was only taking care of her to repay the favor from when she had saved him after the rebar thing.

That was what they were. Not a father and daughter, like Tommy thought. They were just two people who owed each other. Once Joel thought his job was done, he’d leave. He never really wanted her anyway, it was Tess who had convinced him to take her to the Fireflies. 

Tommy was nice though. He’d probably let her stick around once Joel left. 

“Hey, kid, what are you thinking we should do for dinner? Tommy said the community’s inventory was open to anyone, so we’ve got more than a few options.” Joel’s voice rang through the house as Ellie walked in, interrupting her thoughts.

“Uh, I don’t know. What do you want?”

“I’m askin’ what you want, Ellie. Work with me here.” Joel groaned as Ellie walked into the kitchen. It was small, like the rest of their house, but it was more than enough space for the two of them.

“What are my options?”

Joel was silent for a moment. “Ever had pasta before?”

“No. That’s like, noodles and shit, right?”

Joel grinned. “Noodles and shit. Ellie, we are beginning your culinary education.”

“Since when is food so important to you?”

“Since we got choices now. So shut your trap and help me make dinner.”

Ellie decided to follow his directions without too much of a fight. Turned out, this cooking thing was actually kind of fun when it was in a real kitchen. Using the stove was still weird to her, but she was slowly getting used to it. And Joel helped.

Ellie was coming to realize that Joel was actually better at the domestic life than he was at roughing it. Here, in the kitchen, he was in his element, cracking jokes as he cooked what was beginning to look like the best meal Ellie had ever had.

The sky was dark by the time they finally sat down to eat. Normally, Ellie felt a bit on edge in the dark, but with the warm food and lights of the kitchen, she couldn’t find it in herself to be nervous. Joel sitting in the seat next to her also helped, not that she’d ever admit to it.

“So, what are you thinkin?” Joel broke the silence as Ellie seemed more inclined to eat than start a conversation.

“Thought you said I wasn’t capable of thinking.”

“And normally you’re not.”

“Uh huh. What do I think about what?”

“The pasta. Cooking. Whatever.”

“Oh, the pasta’s real good,” Ellie enthused. “Like, this is awesome. The sauce and shit? It tastes so good.”

“Language,” Joel chided. There was no real bite to it though, and Ellie continued.

“The cooking was fun too. It was… nice. Kinda peaceful?”

“Yeah, I thought so too. Thought it was real nice.”

“Oh. Good.” Ellie said, unable to really think of what to say.

Joel smiled. “Yeah. Good.”

Later in the evening, as Ellie tried to actually get some sleep, she thought back to the conversation. Why did Joel care what she thought of cooking? It wasn’t exactly a survival skill. Well, it was, but making pasta wasn’t something that could be accomplished in the wilderness. 

Unless he wanted Ellie to know so that she could make it once he left Jackson. That sounded like something Joel would do. Give her a few happy memories and a safe head start, and then he’d leave once he knew she could handle it. 

It was kind of him, Ellie thought. Giving her some time to prepare, to be ready to be on her own. And hey, maybe Tommy would step in and help out if she ran into trouble. Joel was leaving her in a safe place and helping her figure out to to deal with challenges by herself. That was more than she could have ever expected from him.

It still hurt a little bit though.

Ellie wouldn’t flatter herself by assuming Joel considered her anything close to family. That was damn near impossible. But they had bonded, hadn’t they? They had helped each other. They were a good team, they were good at surviving together.

But Marlene had been like that too. Marlene had looked after her, had kept her safe. And she apparently had no problem giving Ellie up once she wasn’t useful anymore. Once she wasn’t needed.

Was she ever really needed? Ellie tried to think. The last time someone had needed her was when Joel had gotten impaled, and before that-

Flashes. Brown eyes and skin, dog tags clinking together. The one person who can. Fighting for every second. A scream, the kind only an Infected person can make. A single gunshot, echoing throughout her mind.

Ellie physically shuddered, turning over in her bed. 

She didn’t need to think about that, she shouldn’t be thinking about that. It wouldn’t do any good, it wouldn’t bring her back. That part of her life, it was done. Riley was gone and that was that. Simple. Easy. She left and Joel would leave but it would all be ok. She’d handle it.

Ellie probably could have convinced herself that she was ok if it weren’t for the small tears soaking into her pillowcase.

————————————————————————————————

Tommy was at his wit’s end. This wasn’t an unusual feeling when he was with his brother, but it was normally blanketed by that familial love shit. At the moment, there was no blanket.

“The fuck do you mean, you ain’t gonna tell her?” Tommy followed Joel, refusing to let him walk away from the discussion.

“She’s not my daughter, Tommy! You know that, or at least I hope you could puzzle it out-“

“She’s as much your daughter as Sarah was and you know it!” That was a stupid direction to go, which Tommy realized when Joel rounded on him. 

“Don’t you fucking dare say her name.”

“Joel. I get it, I do.”

“You don’t get shit.”

“I was there, Joel. I was there that night.”

“I remember, but you don’t get to say shit about it-“

“Joel, do you care about Ellie at all?”

“That’s none of your fuckin business,” Joel growled.

“Actually, it is. Family structure is kinda important around here.”

“So?”

“So I need to know if you’re going to stick around for her. And I think she’d like to know too,” Tommy said evenly.

“Of course I’m staying, she knows that.”

“She doesn’t.”

“Like hell she doesn’t, ain’t it obvious?” Joel questioned. “She thinks, what, I’m just gonna up and leave someday?”

“Yeah, I reckon she does.”

“How the hell would you know?”

“We talk,” Tommy replied simply.

Joel glared at him. “You and Ellie talk.”

“That’s right.”

“About me?”

“On the occasion when it’s warranted.”

“Since when do you know what warranted means?”

“Stop tryin’ to change the subject.”

“I”m not! Look, Ellie knows that I’m sticking around. She knows that I am, and she knows that I care about her. Not that it’s any of your fucking business,” Joel grumbled. He pointedly avoided Tommy’s eyes when Tommy grinned.

“Good. How’d you tell her all that?”

“Hm?”

“How’d you say that? Maybe she just misinterpreted it. Could explain why she doesn’t think you care.”

“I, uh. I sort of said it just like that.”

“You didn’t tell her at all, did you?” Tommy sighed.

“She can read between the lines, she’s not a moron.”

“Joel!”

“Tommy!” Joel responded.

“You can’t expect her to know this kind of stuff!”

“And why the hell not?”

“Joel, she’s fourteen in the middle of an apocalypse. I’d wager her emotional intelligence is about as low as yours.”

“Hey!” Joel exclaimed indignantly. “Watch it.”

“Oh, shut up. You have to tell her that you’re sticking around, because she’s not expecting you to. Who was the last stable person in her life?”

“Uh. Marlene, maybe? But they only really met a few weeks before Ellie and I… stable adult or stable person?”

“I’d take either.”

“Then it was… oh.”

“Oh?” Tommy raised his eyebrows, confused as to why Joel went from defiant to nearly silent.

“Yeah, that’s it. We’re done talking.”

“Joel, you ain’t in charge here, I say when we’re-“

“We’re done,” Joel said harshly, stalking off until he was out of sight.

Tommy just shook his head. Honestly, if he thought his brother had a brain left, he would wonder what the hell he did with it considering he barely ever seemed to really use it.

————————————————————————————————

Ellie really wasn’t supposed to be doing this. 

Well, she technically wasn’t supposed to be doing this, but it would be a good thing. The watchtower railings were shaky, and if someone leaned on them it would be really unsafe. And it wasn’t like they required much work, plus Maria had given her the go-ahead, so it would be fine.

She would fix the railings up. It was small, barely noticeable, but at least she would feel like she had helped out in some way. Not useless anymore, no. Never again.

If she couldn’t be the cure, then she could be a contributor.

She climbed a narrow, shaky ladder to the platform of the watchtower. The small toolbox that she carried only had a hammer and nails, as she had dragged the new wooden planks up, one by one, earlier that day.

She stared at the work before her. It shouldn’t take long at all to fix up the few really concerning spots, and if she had extra time she may be able to redo the whole thing. Ellie grinned at the thought of Tommy taking a watch shift the next day and seeing the brand new, sturdy railing.

She took care to actually look at the world outside the walls. She was watching for threats, sure, but beyond that, Ellie missed being outside. She missed having more than three square miles to roam around. 

Ellie shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. The outside wasn’t safe. That was why Joel had brought her here, to leave her in a safe place, a place where she might not have to constantly worry about survival. 

Well, she’d be worried about falling to her death until she fixed these railings up. Ellie grinned, ready to get to work.

Nearly two hours later, the sun was beginning to set. Ellie took a break, looking out at the sky.

She wondered if people had really looked at the sky before the outbreak. She’d heard about star-gazing, but usually being outside at night was too dangerous for her to attempt it. She wondered if maybe Joel would let her now. 

But it didn’t matter what Joel would allow, he would leave soon enough. She’d have to ask Tommy if it was allowed, but maybe that would be too much of a bother for him. It didn’t matter, she could handle herself. She didn’t need permission, or supervision. Ellie would be fine on her own.

She’d managed to fix up the railings, after all. Well, she nearly had. She just had one more section left, and it wouldn’t take long. It would be ready for the night watch shifts for sure.

In her excitement, Ellie forgot one incredibly important thing, and if she had been anywhere else in Jackson, it may not have mattered. 

But she was in the watchtower, and anything she could see from the watchtower could probably see her in it.

A split second before the bullet hit her, she could tell something was wrong. There was movement in the woods, too subtle to be an animal. There was a glint of metal, shining in sunlight, and Ellie almost noticed it in time to shout for help.

But almost wasn’t enough, and the last thing Ellie thought before she passed out was that it could be hours before anyone found her. Hell, it could be hours before anyone bothered to look.

————————————————————————————————

“Hey, Maria, you seen Ellie lately?” Joel asked as soon as he all but burst through the door of the makeshift infirmary.

“Have you checked all the usual Ellie spots that she thinks we don’t know about?”

“The shed behind the armory, the alley between the food storage and the rec center, and the little orchard thing y’all have got. She’s nowhere.”

“Huh, that’s….” Maria trailed off before clapping her hands together. “Oh, I know where she is! Sorry, it completely slipped from my mind, pregnant brain and all-“

“Maria, where is she?” Joel asked, trying to curb the impatience in his voice.

“She’s up on the watchtower by the front entrance. She wanted to fix up the railings as a surprise. Good kid, really wants to help out a lot.”

“Thanks,” Joel grunted before rushing out of the room as quickly as he came.

Ellie was settling nicely into Jackson, but Joel was still functioning on survival time. Everything that needed to be done needed to be done as soon as possible, and this was no exception. There was never a guarantee of having time later.

Joel stopped when he saw the watchtower. It was odd, normally he could see if someone was up there. It was high up, but if someone was standing there, he’d notice.

“Ellie?” He called out roughly. “You up there?”

There was no reply, even when Joel strained his ears to hear one. There was a noise though. Something dripping, water from somewhere. Joel looked around for the source of the noise. There weren’t any water sources near here, and it hadn’t rained in ages-

Blood. It was blood, dripping from a crack in the tower’s floor.

“Ellie!” Joel bellowed, launching himself up three of the ladder steps in one jump. “Ellie, goddamnit, answer me!”

There was no reply.

Joel climbed as fast as he could, practically flying up to the platform of the tower. He blanched at the sight that greeted him.

Ellie was unconscious on the ground, blood pouring out of her right shoulder. Some planks of wood and a hammer lay next to her, the tools for the work she hadn’t gotten to finish. 

“Ellie, Ellie, wake up. Wake up, babygirl, please. TOMMY!” Joel turned away, bellowing out at the town below him. “TOMMY! I NEED HELP HERE!”

Joel turned back to the girl in front of him, who didn’t seem to have woken up but was now whimpering, clearly in pain. “Ellie, Ellie, come on, keep breathing for me. Come on, babygirl, keep breathing, please.”

“Joel? Were you just shouting?” Tommy’s voice broke through the quiet.

“Keep an eye on us when I come down, be ready to catch her.”

“Ellie? Is she ok?”

“Just make sure we don’t fall,” Joel said, shifting to drape the girl over his shoulders. Blood was soaking into his shirt, he could feel it as he climbed down the ladder.

“Holy shit, no, what happened-“

“Tommy, tell Maria that we need her to be ready to treat a gunshot wound. Go!” Joel ordered. Tommy nodded, stumbling over himself as he ran towards the infirmary.

Joel adjusted Ellie, cradling her in his arms. She had stopped whimpering and was barely breathing. He felt his heart skip a beat when he saw just how much blood she had lost.

“Stay with me, babygirl. Come on, Ellie, just stay with me.”

Joel began to run towards the infirmary. He wasn’t losing his kid, not today. Not again.

————————————————————————————————

Tommy sat quietly as Joel paced in the waiting room. Neither of the two men were inclined to break the silence that had filled the room since Ellie had gone into surgery about an hour ago. Joel’s heavy footsteps were the only noise, and even they seemed muted.

Tommy watched his older brother, who hadn’t sat down since he got to the infirmary. He had been just standing, blankly staring at the doorway that Maria had taken Ellie through. Tommy had tried to get him to sit down, but Joel just shrugged him off and began to pace, which he hadn’t stopped doing since.

“Joel, sit down,” Tommy tried again, mostly just because he was beginning to hate the silence. “Pacing yourself to death ain’t making the time pass any quicker.”

“Shut it,” Joel growled, not hesitating for a moment. 

“I’m serious. You need to calm down or Maria will make me sedate you, and I don’t want to waste our supplies like that.”

Joel sighed heavily before dropping into a chair. “Happy?”

“Very,” Tommy deadpanned. He looked around the tiny waiting room, hoping Maria would burst in and say that everything would be ok, that Ellie was going to be fine. The universe refused to bend to his will, however, and the waiting room remained as empty as ever. A few chairs and a sinking feeling of hopelessness was all that occupied the space with them.

Joel’s leg began to bounce, seemingly uncontrollably. Tommy stared at him until he noticed. “What?” Joel bit out.

“Leg’s bouncing.”

“Oh.” Joel stilled, staring at his leg like he couldn’t believe it had moved without his permission. “Sorry.”

“Not a problem. But are you ever gonna fucking talk to me?”

“Excuse you?”

“You’re out of your mind with worry, Joel, and I’m the only one here. I think you might explode if you don’t say something soon.”

“Fuck off.”

“Nope, sorry. Talk or don’t, but don’t just sit there and go crazy, because crazy is contagious and Maria won’t be happy if I bring it home.”

“Bet she ain’t happy when you come home with idiocy either.”

“She knows I got that from you when we were younger, and luckily she’s immune.”

“Good for her, she’d be the only one,” Joel muttered, getting up and beginning to pace again.

“Yeah, I think so too.”

“Sorry for being an ass.”

“I’m used to it,” Tommy replied with a shrug.

“I’m just… I’m just really fucking worried. And what the hell was Ellie even doing up there, on the watchtower? She knows she’s not supposed to go up alone, you’d think she was an idiot-“

“Try again without getting pissed,” Tommy interrupted. “She was trying to be helpful.” Why the hell he was playing therapist for his brother, he had no idea. But he wasn’t a fan of sitting in silence wondering what was happening with Ellie, so any distraction would do.

“I’m not pissed, and even if I was, I’d be perfectly within my rights to be! Why the hell would you bring her up there in the first place? She’s a kid, she shouldn’t be doing any of this stuff!”

“She’s a survivor, Joel, same as you and me. She’s just as capable of handling it as the next person. Hell, I’d say she can probably handle it better than most of the adults here, she’s got more experience.”

“More experience does not mean she should keep doing it. She’s a kid, Tommy, she’s just a kid. She’s fucking fourteen, she’s fourteen and she’s my kid and I can’t let anything happen to her!” Joel exclaimed roughly, rounding on Tommy.

“I know she’s a kid, but I’m trying to run a town here, Joel, and I need all the help I can- wait. Did you just call Ellie your kid? Not just a kid, but yours?”

“I… yeah. Yeah, I think I did.”

“Well.” Tommy leaned back in his chair. “How ‘bout that.”

“How ‘bout that,” Joel echoed lamely.

“Glad you could admit to it.”

“Oh yeah, fucking thrilling. Finally realized I’m a father again and the kid may never know.”

“Don’t say that, she’ll be fine,” Tommy said. “Maria’ll come by in a second and she’ll tell you that it’s all ok.”

“I should have kept her safer.”

“Not a place in the world is safe, Joel. You got her this far. You just have to keep going.”

“Keep finding something to fight for.” Joel sat back down heavily.

“Yeah, that’s it.”

Joel didn’t bother with a reply, leaned back and stared at the ground.

Tommy sighed, accepting that the conversation was over. It was probably the longest and least irritating conversation he’d had with his brother since the world went batshit crazy. Granted, this was the longest he’d been around his brother since everything happened.

He was an uncle again. Uncle Tommy, he thought to himself. Huh. Not a bad ring to it, even if he still heard it in Sarah’s voice. 

He could learn to hear it from Ellie.

“Joel?” Maria appeared in the doorway, prompting both Joel and Tommy to shoot out of their seats.

“Is she ok?” Joel asked.

Maria smiled. “She’ll be just fine. She lost a fair amount of blood, but it’s nothing she can’t recover from. The bullet got lodged in her shoulder, but we got it out just fine. She’s an odd one, though. Either very strong or very stupid.”

“What’s that mean?” Tommy asked as his brother sagged in relief.

“She woke up while we were operating and started flirting with my intern.”

“What?”

“Yeah. Kat, the new girl? She’s about Ellie’s age. She started working here, I got her administering pain medicine. Don’t remember exactly what Ellie called her, but she was blushing so hard that I almost asked her to leave.”

“You’ve got an interesting conversation in your future, Joel,” Tommy chuckled. “Can he go see her?”

“Of course, follow me.”

Maria led them down a long hallway, clearly moving quickly for Joel’s benefit. Tommy resolved to ask later about Ellie’s flirting escapades, he definitely wanted something to tease the kid about once she was back on her feet. 

“She’s right in there, she should be awake.” Maria paused outside a door at the end of the hall. “She’s tired, Joel. She really did lose a good bit of blood, and we don’t always have enough pain meds to go around, which means I couldn’t give her the dose she really needs. She’s hurting, be careful with her.”

“Of course. Thank you for helping her. Really, thank you.”

“Thank me by coming over for dinner tomorrow. Yes, it’s non-negotiable,” Maria said as Joel opened his mouth to protest. Tommy smirked as Joel decided, very wisely, not to argue. Maria just smiled, somehow seeming both comforting and threatening, and walked off.

Tommy grinned. God, his wife was so badass. 

“So, I’m gonna… I’m just gonna-“ Joel stood awkwardly by the door, hand on the knob, clearly ready to go in.

“Yeah, no, of course,” Tommy said, gesturing at the door. “Go right ahead.”

“Right.” Joel opened the door just slightly, then turned back. “Tommy?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

Tommy kept his face blank. “For what? For, you know, being right all the time?”

“Shut up.”

“Because it’s a real burden, let me tell you-“

“Shut up, you moron.”

“Right. Tell the kid hi for me.”

“Sure.”

Tommy began to walk off, deciding to give them a bit of privacy. Before he really backed off, though, he peeked through the door. Joel was sitting down, having pulled a chair up next to the bed, listening intently as Ellie spoke quietly. If Tommy were just going off of expressions, Joel would have seemed as blank and emotionless as ever, but the hands tightly clutching one of Ellie’s gave him away.

Tommy smiled to himself. 

Uncle Tommy. 

He could get used to that again.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, thanks for reading this! I know I've got a bunch of other wips, but this came to me and I had to write it immediately. If you're a reader for my other works, I'm sorry for not updating for so long, I swear I'm working on it. If you liked this story, please consider leaving a kudos or a comment, I love getting them and they're incredibly encouraging. Thanks again for reading this and have a great day/night!


End file.
